OY - No Problem Saloon (2014)

'No Problem Saloon' is the kaleidoscopic album by incomparable Berlin-based band OY, aka Swiss-Ghanaian vocalist and musician Joy Frempong and drummer & producer Lleluja-Ha. Driven by Joy's soulful, melodic and arrestingly versatile voice, it's a collection of colourful songs weaving OY's own strains of electronica, whirling drums and captivating and humorous storytelling, laced with distinctly African musical and lyrical elements.

Joy gathered elements for this unique album during a series of trips to Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana and South Africa. She met scores of people, listened to proverbs, heard stories, and collected bits of field recordings which, upon the duet's return to their Berlin studio, were all used as building blocks, in a perfectly organic way. The slam of a taxi door became a drum, an antiquated washing machine provided a bass sound, conversation and street noises started drifting in and out of the songs, and the lyrics were naturally developed from the stories and fragments of popular wisdom culled during these encounters.

Joy and Lleluja-Ha then started exploring the songs on stage, injecting further ideas into the pieces before finalising the production. This quasi-alchemical process worked wonders, and resulted in a mesmerising and thoroughly engaging album, which OY have managed to masterfully transpose to the stage, as their exhilarating, dynamic live show has already electrified crowds at prestigious events such as Transmusicales, Les Eurockéennes, Sonar, SXSW, Montreux Jazz and more.